Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart By Bayer and Figdor Rowman & Littlefield, 2014, 178 pages ISBN 978-1-4422-3679-0 Cost: $27.69 While the authors of this easy to read book on atheism reject the idea that there is a God and that the Ten Commandments were divinely revealed, they maintain that people can learn what is true [...]
This is a draft of my and others interpretation of Esther chapter 3 which I hope to publish in 2015 as "Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith." Chapter 3 The first ant-Semite was a Semite Sometime between Ahasuerus’ seventh year as king, when he chose Esther as [...]
Scholarly studies on the book of Esther Carey A. Moore, the author of the highly praised Anchor Bible commentary on the biblical book Esther collected 37 scholarly articles on Esther which he placed in this book, many of which would not otherwise be available.[1] He includes his own 81 page Prolegomenon with notes [...]
Torah from Alexandria: Philo as a Biblical Commentator Volume 1: Genesis Edited by Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel Kodesh Press, 2014, 356 pages The philosopher Philo of Alexandria, Egypt (who lived from about 20 BCE to about 50 CE) was a man who is unfortunately little known today other than by scholars, but people, Jews [...]
Almost nothing is clear in Esther chapter 2 After being introduced to Ahasuerus and his fool-hardy disastrous treatment of Vashti, the book of Esther notifies readers briefly about the Judean heroes of the tale, Mordecai and Esther. Ahasuerus carries out the suggestion of his servants[1] to seek a virgin to replace [...]
Clergy don’t understand the Bible I am convinced that most clergy of every faith who function in churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues don’t understand what the Bible is saying. Also, because of their job, even if they know better, they have become so accustomed to reading the Bible incorrectly that they are [...]
Tzvi Adams sent me the following in response to my last posting. You may want to read these two writings. R. Avraham HaNassi of 11th century Spain wrote same: http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=9428&st=&pgnum=127 A great paper on this by Natan Slifkin: http://www.zootorah.com/RationalistJudaism/What%20Can%20One%20Do%20For%20Someone%20Who%20Has%20Passed%20Away.pdf
Is this fraud, criminal behavior, or piety? When I returned a week ago from a two month stay in Israel over the Jewish High Holidays, I found dozens of messages left on my telephone answering machine. Three of them made me wonder whether the callers were committing fraud, a criminal act, [...]
This is a draft of chapter two of the Esther section of the book I am writing tentatively called "Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith" that may be published in 2015. Chapter two Esther in the Legends We have seen some imaginative interpretations of the book of Esther, [...]
I published "Unusual Bible Interpretations: Five Books of Moses" last week, my 26th book, the first of a series of "Unusual" books. One on Joshua and another on Judges are finished and should be published next year. I am currently working on "Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith." The following is a draft of [...]
I have begun to work on my book tentatively called "Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith." Here is the draft of my introduction to Esther. I will continue with chapter one in a few days, with subsequent chapters every week. Introduction Esther is not as simple as people think [...]
The patriarchs were humans The first book in my new series “Unusual Bile Interpretations,” on the “Five Books of Moses,” was published in Israel last week. I finished the next two, on the biblical books Joshua and Judges, and they will be published in upcoming months. I am currently working on a [...]
Was there really a flood? The biblical story about Noah and the flood is not as simple as some people want to think. The story raises interesting and to some people disturbing questions about good and evil, divine intervention in this world, do miracles exist, should we take all the biblical stories literally, [...]
My 26th book has just been published Gefen Publishing House published my twenty-sixth book today, October 21, 2014, in Israel. The books should reach the US in a month or two. I point out in the book’s introduction that most people know little about the Hebrew Bible. What they do know they derive from [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Sin The Early History of an Idea By Paula Fredriksen Princeton University Press, 2012, 209 pages Paperback Cost: $14.28 Professor Paula Fredriksen of Boston University’s book on the development of the concept of sin begins with the view of Jesus and not with the prior Jewish [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Koheleth The Man and his world A Study of Ecclesiastes By Robert Gordis Schocken Books, 1968, 421 pages Paperback Cost: $5.00 This is a readable translation by a highly respected scholar of the biblical book Ecclesiastes, called Kohelet in Hebrew, with comprehensive explanations and extensive notes. Both [...]
A man dies. God summons him and the man appears glowing with pride, certain he had lived the life God wanted him to live. "Did you enjoy the many joyous things I placed on earth for you," God asks. "God forbid," answered the pious man. I made sure that I didn't partake of a [...]
Snakes eating dust My twenty-sixth book which will be published in a few weeks in Israel is called “Unusual Bible Interpretations: Five Books of Moses.” It is part of a series of four “Unusual” books. Two of the remaining three are finished and will be published by Gefen Publishing House shortly. They [...]
Pepper, Silk & Ivory By Marvin Tokayer and Ellen Rodman 2014, Gefen Publishing House, 316 pages Most people, Jews and Orientals included, know little or nothing about the enormous contributions that Jews made in the Near East, including China and Japan. Tokayer and Rodman fill this lacuna wonderfully. Their more than two dozen [...]
Unlocking the Torah Text An In-depth Journey into the Weekly Devarim By Shmuel Goldin Gefen Publishing House, 2014, 431 pages This is the fifth volume in which Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, offers readers a very interesting “innovative educational approach to Torah study.” Rabbi Goldin has served as a rabbi in Englewood, New Jersey since [...]
Sukkot: A Radical interpretation[1] People who pay attention to what they read realize that none of the Jewish holidays are practiced today as the Torah mandates. The rabbis made extensive changes in Torah laws because of changes in human circumstances. Scholars think that the holidays were originally folk harvest festivals that [...]
Was the great sage Rashbam Orthodox? I have been noting in many of my writings that Jews are not required to believe everything that the general population of Jews believe because, as in all cultures and religions, the general population is insufficiently educated, do not think for themselves, rely on superstitious teachings, [...]
Enchantress By Maggie Anton Maggie Anton is justly praised for the drama, suspense, and romance in her splendid three volumes about Rashi’s daughters and the first book in this series on Rav Hisda’s Daughter. This book continues the story in book one, which was subtitled “Apprentice.” In Book one, as a young girl, [...]
Emerson: On Man and God And the concept of “majority rules” in Judaism Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) wrote in his introduction to his famed philosophical book “Guide of the Perplexed” that he, a Jew, will be citing, along with his own views, the opinions of the pagan Greek philosopher Aristotle and the [...]
Three rabbinical tales with profound rational lessons[1] Maimonides, in his Commentary on the Mishnah, Introduction to Perek Chelek, describes how one should understand rabbinical stories and declares that most people do not deal with rabbinic Midrashim[2] correctly. According to Maimonides, three clusters of people exist, each taking a radically different approach to [...]
Three shocking Maimonides lessons Maimonides reveals three significant secrets in his Guide of the Perplexed 3:28 that will surprise many people, many of whom will disagree with him. (1) The Torah does not teach everything that people should know, (2) some teachings in the Torah are not true, and (3) Torah laws are [...]
Ibn Ezra’s “Secret of the Twelve”[1] The Torah’s final chapter presents a serious theological dilemma. The following is a brief history of how some scholars handled this dilemma. Questions Did Moses write the entire Torah? Do traditional Jewish commentators differ on the subject? Who wrote the story of the death of [...]
The Sabbath: The Peaceful Day Provoked Sadducees and Pharisees As I wrote in my recent book “Mysteries of Judaism,” all the biblical holidays were changed by the rabbis because of the conditions of their time, especially because the temple was destroyed in 70 CE and sacrifices, which were an [...]
Eiruv Tavshilin A Seemingly Strange Pre-holiday Practice Some Jewish laws seem irrational at first glance and seem to be rabbinical attempts to evade biblical mandates, but a closer look reveals that the rabbis created laws to aid fellow Jews. Eiruv Tavshilin is an example. When a Jewish holiday is followed immediately by the [...]
Yom Kippur: About a Holiday the Romans Destroyed[1] Like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur does not exist in the Bible. It replaces another day known as Yom Hakippurim. Yom Kippur is singular, “day of atonement,” while Yom Hakippurim is plural, “day of atonements.” The biblical Yom Hakippurim is mentioned in [...]
